How do you know it works?
My problem is that I've already used up the corner of the room to store an undisclosed number of hardshell cases for ...various... ...gear...
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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
How do you know it works?
My problem is that I've already used up the corner of the room to store an undisclosed number of hardshell cases for ...various... ...gear...
I see your dilemma.
Do you have any shelves in a clothing closet? I have a lot of pedals in box neatly stacked behind all my shirts on hangers. They’re totally out of sight.
I told myself that when a pedal is still in production and readily available, I can simply sell it off because I can just get another should I want it again. That made it easy for me to let go of the AMT O-Bass. I can buy it any time at thomann with super fast shipping.
Further testing revealed that I only want to keep the Way Huge Pork Loin because it looks pretty.
Adding the Beta DLX into the equation rendered the Pork Loin redundant.
This means that the shelf space needed is actually shrinking.
Right now, all I want to keep is the Beta DLX and the Locomotive.
The O-Bass is already gone, the Egg Sack has been sold and I've put up the Blessed Mother for sale, the Pork Loin will follow as soon as I had the time to take pretty pictures.
I'm telling myself that I could stop at any time now because my dirt situation has taken a mighty leap
forward.
However, my current shortlist of pedals I still want to try:
-Silver Bee
-Barbershop
-Lucydreamer Bass
(in that order)
Further testing revealed that I only want to keep the Way Huge Pork Loin because it looks pretty.
Adding the Beta DLX into the equation rendered the Pork Loin redundant.
This means that the shelf space needed is actually shrinking.
Right now, all I want to keep is the Beta DLX and the Locomotive.
The O-Bass is already gone, the Egg Sack has been sold and I've put up the Blessed Mother for sale, the Pork Loin will follow as soon as I had the time to take pretty pictures.
I'm telling myself that I could stop at any time now because my dirt situation has taken a mighty leap
forward.
However, my current shortlist of pedals I still want to try:
-Silver Bee
-Barbershop
-Lucydreamer Bass
(in that order)
Trying the Barbershop seems a must once you’ve come this far.
It’s unique, and wonderfully simple.
And what about the MBD by Damnation Audio?
Very unique in its approach and sounds fantastic.
It’s unique, and wonderfully simple.
And what about the MBD by Damnation Audio?
Very unique in its approach and sounds fantastic.
I don't know about the MBD. I did not really like the demos.
The Barbershop. I don't know why I keep putting this one off time and again.
It'll go on top of my shortlist now, because I ordered a Silver Bee which should be here by tomorrow.
The Barbershop. I don't know why I keep putting this one off time and again.
It'll go on top of my shortlist now, because I ordered a Silver Bee which should be here by tomorrow.
Are the demos all focused on “heavy” distorted type tones? That’s what I recall. If so, it’s a massive disservice. For me it’s excellent for low gain with slight or virtually no tonal coloration (user’s choice).
As much a disservice as there being no bass demos of the Fifth Gear, despite one of the company’s co-owners(?) posting frequently on this site. Never tried a Fifth Gear myself.
For simplicity, and for what you seem to be after, I’d give Barbershop the nod though. Unless maybe your bass or preceding signal chain sends a very hot signal.
I’ve only been reading about your search for a few pages. Are you demoing these pedals with or without backing tracks? Maybe at rehearsals? I’m just wondering, because I’ve found that most of the subtle nuances between drive pedals are lost in a mix when trying circuits of the similar design.
Noted!
The fifth gear is close to impossible to find in Europe .... actually worldwide.
I've seen Barbershops offered time and again on my local market. There basically was a second hand one on offer at all times. Right now, there are none and it has been like that for a while. The next one that crops up is mine.
The MBD .... and I forgot about the Smallsound/Bigsound mini. Those are on the list, too.
I am aware of that. I do most of the experimenting at home, but I feed my signal into a mixer where I add backing tracks to simulate a band environment.
Is there a significant tonal difference in the MBD-1 and 2 ?
The v2 is obviously much more pedalboard friendly.
All I can gather is that there is a +20dB switch on the v2.
I believe there’s no difference. You could ask in the Damnation Audio thread to be certain.
I recall many switched for the size, and I’ve never even read the suggestion the two might sound different.
On v1 you can internally adjust input gain trim. Unsure what other adjustments v2 may have.
Okay. Here's a strict order for all you people that have been impudent enough to suggest a pedal and then followed up on that suggestion so I went and got the pedal:
Either you suggest the 'one' pedal, he be-all end-all overdrive for my use case or you keep your silence!
I'm running out of shelf space quickly and I don't want to find out what the SO has to say about pedals crowding bookshelves in the living room. ;-)
The Silver Bee @StayLow insisted I should try came the other day. I did not have that much time with it, but what I can say is that my first impression was: Whoa! I'm keeping that one!
I like the looks. The white decor on the matte aluminium is nearly invisible in stage light and I like that minimalistic approach with the four rather small knobs and the white LED, that for some reason, comes across as 'Matte White'. It's bright, but not blindingly so like the lights on the Beta DLX are. From a few feet off it looks like a matte box in a silverish white with a matte white light.
Once again, I could get a range of useful sounds out of it and I have not really had the time to make my ears familiar what all the knobs do in all the settings there are, so I suspect that I only skimmed the surface. It feels more like an amp than an OD pedal. With my passive bass, I get clean tones if the gain is set before noon.
At noon, a very gentle breakup starts and it stays gentle all the way until maxed. I guess that bringing up bass or treble on the two band EQ will affect the amount of breakup happening in their respective ranges.
My first impression about the bass knob is that it is centered quite high, more tuned towards guitar - So it's actually more of a mid control, but I need to verify that.
I'm heading off to a jam now. On my board I have the Beta DLX. After a minute of thought, I also stuffed the Silver Bee into the bag, maybe I get to try it.
Either you suggest the 'one' pedal, he be-all end-all overdrive for my use case or you keep your silence!
I'm running out of shelf space quickly and I don't want to find out what the SO has to say about pedals crowding bookshelves in the living room. ;-)
The Silver Bee @StayLow insisted I should try came the other day. I did not have that much time with it, but what I can say is that my first impression was: Whoa! I'm keeping that one!
I like the looks. The white decor on the matte aluminium is nearly invisible in stage light and I like that minimalistic approach with the four rather small knobs and the white LED, that for some reason, comes across as 'Matte White'. It's bright, but not blindingly so like the lights on the Beta DLX are. From a few feet off it looks like a matte box in a silverish white with a matte white light.
Once again, I could get a range of useful sounds out of it and I have not really had the time to make my ears familiar what all the knobs do in all the settings there are, so I suspect that I only skimmed the surface. It feels more like an amp than an OD pedal. With my passive bass, I get clean tones if the gain is set before noon.
At noon, a very gentle breakup starts and it stays gentle all the way until maxed. I guess that bringing up bass or treble on the two band EQ will affect the amount of breakup happening in their respective ranges.
My first impression about the bass knob is that it is centered quite high, more tuned towards guitar - So it's actually more of a mid control, but I need to verify that.
I'm heading off to a jam now. On my board I have the Beta DLX. After a minute of thought, I also stuffed the Silver Bee into the bag, maybe I get to try it.
Glad you dig it! One Control stuff is well made, looks and feels great, and the CEO is a bassist.
As for sounds, it is an AIAB (amp in a box) type of pedal and though it’s not made to mimic an Ampeg that’s how it “feels” to me when playing it.
Depending on the output of my bass and the music, for light drive and a bit of tube-like compression I tend to set Drive from 9-11 o’clock, Bass 1-3 o’clock, and Treble noon-full.
“Flat” sometimes sounds more like both EQ set around 1-2 o’clock, again depending what I’m feeding it.
BJFe circuits tend to be highly interactive. The EQ is pre-Drive. Rather than EQ, think of it as “how much of these frequencies do I want affected by the Drive?”
In discussions with him I’ve learned Bjorn is an obsessive listener, and skilled gigging guitarist. He hyper-focuses on what works in a mix… and it works great.
Consider the EQ points for the Pale Blue Compressor for example: Bass shelving 100Hz, Treble shelving 7KHz, and Mids bandpass 700Hz. The mids make plenty of sense for bass guitar but most would question the Bass & Treble frequencies, yet it’s a killer compressor pedal for bass. Let’s not forget the Holy Grail Ampeg sealed 8x10 rolls-off steeply below 80 Hz yet sounds full and fantastic.
With the Silver Bee, the Bass affects somewhere from the 80-100 Hz range to about 800 Hz I think.
Think of it more like a “Body” control. Your bass’ fundamental is still there but you may be boosting slightly higher frequencies so in proportion it may seem like there’s less deep bass. Sounds full in the mix in any case, and if need be when boosting Bass/Body on the pedal boosting < 80 Hz at the amp should get you back to the tonal balance that might sound “correct”.
Hopefully you’re super satisfied wth the great gear you’ve already got. Suggest someday checking out a Barbershop anyway.
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Yesterday, I was at a private jam session. It was scheduled to be a dub thing, but we ventured into blues territory for quite a bit and also did some oldschool ska things.
I had the Beta on my board and the Silver Bee in the bag, at some point during the session I took off the C4 (when there was no need for bass synth) and put the Silver Bee on.
The Beta is much grindier when I play it through an amp with others. I had the clipping set to Silicone/Germanium diodes and the gain at zero. Played through my ampless setup, this stays clean for very long and only gives me a hint of grind in the lower registers - yesterday the bass was gravelly and grindy all the way, all the time. It sat very well with the mix and the others.
I will explore this further in the next week, when I will be home alone for a few days and can play with a bass amp at gig volume without annoying people.
The Silver Bee was easy to dial in, but I could not make it sound like 'me'.
I get what @StayLow means with the EQ settings, and I can second the fact that my bass was very present within the mix, the dirt nicely exposed instead of mingling with the guitar sounds - however, I kept bending down and adjusting the pedal to do the split between a sound that works and a sound that tickles my fancy. I gave up at some point, not wanting to annoy the others and switched back to the Beta.
I will have to gather some more experience with the Bee before I attempt that again.
I also got so tangled up with Overdrive effects in the last weeks that I was quite stunned when I played my clean sound. That BDPG into the Cali76 into the Underground Accelerator turns my rig into such a mean dub machine, it was pure joy putting my barefaced 12" to work, pumping air.
I had the Beta on my board and the Silver Bee in the bag, at some point during the session I took off the C4 (when there was no need for bass synth) and put the Silver Bee on.
The Beta is much grindier when I play it through an amp with others. I had the clipping set to Silicone/Germanium diodes and the gain at zero. Played through my ampless setup, this stays clean for very long and only gives me a hint of grind in the lower registers - yesterday the bass was gravelly and grindy all the way, all the time. It sat very well with the mix and the others.
I will explore this further in the next week, when I will be home alone for a few days and can play with a bass amp at gig volume without annoying people.
The Silver Bee was easy to dial in, but I could not make it sound like 'me'.
I get what @StayLow means with the EQ settings, and I can second the fact that my bass was very present within the mix, the dirt nicely exposed instead of mingling with the guitar sounds - however, I kept bending down and adjusting the pedal to do the split between a sound that works and a sound that tickles my fancy. I gave up at some point, not wanting to annoy the others and switched back to the Beta.
I will have to gather some more experience with the Bee before I attempt that again.
I also got so tangled up with Overdrive effects in the last weeks that I was quite stunned when I played my clean sound. That BDPG into the Cali76 into the Underground Accelerator turns my rig into such a mean dub machine, it was pure joy putting my barefaced 12" to work, pumping air.
It’s tough and costly enough to come sooooo close, but “juuuust right” is ever so elusive.
Since you’re doing dub, maybe MBD-1 or -2 is in fact the best target to aim at. Its treatment of the lows via it’s very unique Blend process and Depth knob is the main thing that put it on the map.
When I'm playing dub, I'm all set. I got a variety of sounds from my pedals, no need for adding dirt.
There is a certain satisfaction in pumping out those basslines absolutely clean. My dirt comes from all the stuff in the room that starts shaking.
Breaking News:
I just found a Barbershop, established contact with the seller and agreed on terms. It shall be here soon.
I also located a Free The Tone Bass Blaster in Europe, but the used price is €300 plus shipping. That's not exactly a bargain. On top of that, I must admit that I don't like the looks of that one one bit. I actually think it's pretty ugly. And it is big. And the jacks are side mounted. Why? I'm not getting that one.
The list grows shorter.
Damnation MBD
Jam Pedals Lucydreamer Bass
Southampton Fifth Gear
There is a certain satisfaction in pumping out those basslines absolutely clean. My dirt comes from all the stuff in the room that starts shaking.
Breaking News:
I just found a Barbershop, established contact with the seller and agreed on terms. It shall be here soon.
I also located a Free The Tone Bass Blaster in Europe, but the used price is €300 plus shipping. That's not exactly a bargain. On top of that, I must admit that I don't like the looks of that one one bit. I actually think it's pretty ugly. And it is big. And the jacks are side mounted. Why? I'm not getting that one.
The list grows shorter.
Damnation MBD
Jam Pedals Lucydreamer Bass
Southampton Fifth Gear
The thing about the MBD is, to me, it does have a certain "voice".
My approach to it has changed from favoring the dirt side, and dialing thick lows, to favoring the clean side, and dialing in the dirt side brighter than normal, and using it to bring my highs and articulation back.
This maintains a thick, pure low-end, and a crunchy, harmonic loaded high-end.
I did notice a difference (tonally) between the 1 & 2.
With my highest output bass, the clean side of the 1 actually distorts a little.
That bass being a G&L L-2000.
I also have a G&L Kiloton, which I typically run in single coil mode. The L2K is either parallel or series.
And, I pretty much always use active or active w/treble boost on the L2K.
The Kilo is fully passive.
My G&L L-1000s are both similar in output to my kilo, so they respond the same through my MBD-1.
Just thought I'd add full disclosure.
My approach to it has changed from favoring the dirt side, and dialing thick lows, to favoring the clean side, and dialing in the dirt side brighter than normal, and using it to bring my highs and articulation back.
This maintains a thick, pure low-end, and a crunchy, harmonic loaded high-end.
I did notice a difference (tonally) between the 1 & 2.
With my highest output bass, the clean side of the 1 actually distorts a little.
That bass being a G&L L-2000.
I also have a G&L Kiloton, which I typically run in single coil mode. The L2K is either parallel or series.
And, I pretty much always use active or active w/treble boost on the L2K.
The Kilo is fully passive.
My G&L L-1000s are both similar in output to my kilo, so they respond the same through my MBD-1.
Just thought I'd add full disclosure.
I’m still not sure I actually understand what dirt sound you’re looking for. So I’ve got nothing to suggest at this point. 
I’m still not sure I actually understand what dirt sound you’re looking for. So I’ve got nothing to suggest at this point.
That makes two of us ;-)
I can only tell you what I think I want at this moment.
Right now, the pedals that I did like a lot, but nonetheless am either parting with or have already sent to their new homes are:
Way Huge Pork Loin:
I loved the softness of the clipping, but compared to others, it sounded too artificial. Not like a smooth tube amp gently pushed into saturation and more like a synth with velvet overdrive enabled.
Heather Brown Electronicals The Blessed Mother:
The dynamic range did not do it for me. It's a great pedal, but we did not click.
AMT O-Bass: The form factor plus the 12V requirement were my main issues with this one.
The pedals I'm holding on to for the time being:
SolidGoldFX Beta DLX.
I love that you can set it so smooth it can do its thing for a variety of styles. When you play older music, the bass can really benefit from a bit of harmonic breakup that does not sound angry or harsh. The boost works very well, too. The pedal sounds like it gets brighter with higher gain settings, so you can have a smooth soft overdrive dialed in and then kick in the boost which not only adds gain, but also a bit of roughness to the clipping, giving you, careful experimenting with all the knobs provided, two very usable sounds.
Crazy Tube Locomotive.
If I had an all solid state signal path, I would probably set this pedal somewhere near the end and use it as an always on tube-magic-injector. It totally can do that. It also can do a really dynamic overdrive that sounds and feels very organic.
One Control Silver Bee:
I have not made up my mind about this one, but it does a crazy good dynamic range and feels like the voice it adds is very flexible. At this point I feel that it does some gentle tone shaping and I would not (yet) call it transparent, but it does its thing in a good way.
You could take those six pedals, put a number on each and then pass me a die and tell me to roll it, the number it shows will be my dirt pedal for the time being - and I could actually live a happy life with that.
It could also be that the Locomotive and the Beta cover all my needs and it's downhill from here.
I think at the moment, I'm continuing on this path because I'm having fun and momentum.
